Weaving loom with side-by-side frames, weaving method using such a loom and preforms woven thereby

ABSTRACT

The weaving loom of the present disclosure includes a warp thread supply system, a frame type warp thread sequencing system, a reed and a weft thread insertion system. The present disclosure also provides a weaving method using the weaving loom. The method includes: a step of designing a flat fabric which are multilayered and presenting several adjacent sections in a weft direction whose weave and layout are different; a step of designing a set of side-by-side frames for enabling a weaving of the adjacent sections in a continuity of a weft according to designed weaves and layouts; and a step of carrying out the weaving.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/FR2014/050361, filed on Feb. 21, 2014, which claims the benefit of FR 13/51594, filed on Feb. 22, 2013. The disclosures of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a weaving loom a weaving method using a weaving loom, and preforms woven thereby.

BACKGROUND

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

In particular, the present disclosure applies to the manufacture of parts made of composite materials for aeronautics, formed of at least one fabric preform taken in polymerized resin, such parts may be used in particular for realizing turbojet engines nacelles.

In order to produce fabric preforms intended for realizing composites parts such as sheets, beams and profiles such as guide or carrying rails, it is known to realize several drapes each being a determined weave, then assemble them by different textile methods such as stitch or drape in order to assemble them side-by-side before casting the resin. However, these are complex and time-consuming operations.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a weaving loom of the kind including a wrap yarns supply system, a wrap yarns sequencing system with frames, a beating reed and a weft yarn insertion system. The present disclosure also provides the sequencing system which includes means for driving side-by-side frames.

According to other features of the present disclosure:

the sequencing system includes parallel sliders wherein the profiled edges are engaged facing vertical uprights of the facing frames;

the loom includes lines of side-by-side frames, each line of frames in one row being assigned to the weaving of one section of the fabric according to a determined weave and/or layout by using the continuity of the weft between the various fabric sections;

the sequencing system includes a motorization which is independent, over time and in amplitude, from the movement of the side-by-side frames;

the loom includes means for realizing singularities in at least one of the woven areas in connection with a line of frames provided for weaving this area which may include in particular a weft insertion system, for example of the shuttle-type, adapted to the layout of the concerned weaving area.

The present disclosure also concerns a weaving method using a weaving loom according to the present disclosure. The method includes: a step of designing a flat fabric which may be multilayered and presenting several adjacent sections in the weft direction whose weave and layout are different, then a step of designing a set of side-by-side frames for enabling the weaving of the adjacent sections in the continuity of the weft according to the designed weaves and layouts and a step of carrying out the weaving.

According to other features of the method according to the present disclosure:

the step of designing each fabric section produces data defining its weave and its layout which are used in the subsequent step of designing a line of frames associated to said section as well as their different vertical movements which are independent over time and in amplitude.

The present disclosure also concerns preforms which are woven according to the method of the present disclosure. They are made in one single piece.

According to other features of these preforms, such a woven preform is used for making in a composite material a beam of a thrust reverser for a turbojet engine nacelle, composite parts such as sheets, beams and profiles such as guide or carrying rails.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

DRAWINGS

In order that the disclosure may be well understood, there will now be described various forms thereof, given by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view of a weaving loom according to a known technique of the state of the art;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of one form of a mounting of a frame used in a weaving loom according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 represents a wraps sequencing system in a weaving loom in another form according to the present disclosure; and

FIG. 4 schematically represents a weaving loom in another form of the present disclosure.

The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.

In FIG. 1, there is schematically represented a weaving loom of the state of the art.

From the left to the right, the weaving loom includes a wrap yarns supply system 1, a wrap yarns sequencing system 2 including heddles carrying eyelets 3, the heddles being movably disposed in frames placed one behind the other and sequentially driven with vertical movements, a beating reed 9 and a weft yarn insertion system 10, for example of the shuttle-type. The fabric that it being woven 13 is driven by a feed system 14 which applies a controlled tension on the wrap yarns 8 which come out therefrom and which come from of the supply system 1.

The beating reed 9 extends between the wrap yarns 8 at the outlet of the frames of the sequencing system 2 and each of its teeth is intended to push the weft yarn 10 against the fabric that is being woven in a reciprocating forward and backward movement 11, 12.

Synchronously with the movement of the beating reed, each weft yarn is passed through an eyelet 3 on a heddle driven by a frame of the sequencing system 2 in a reciprocating movement with a determined down 4 and up 6 frequency so that the eyelet 3 that is disposed at the top of the frame passes into a low position 5 when a weft yarn 10 is integrated to the fabric. A new return of the weft yarn 10 is then carried out by the weft insertion system and the eyelet at the position 5 returns back to the top position 4 through an up movement 6 of the frame that supports it. This description is given only but as an example of operation. Indeed, depending on the desired weave, a determined eyelet is not constrained to move downward or upward after each weft insertion.

The wrap yarns are distributed along the direction of the weft over a series of eyelets carried by the heddles in the frame. For reasons of complexity of the movements 4, 6 of the wrap yarns, several frames are placed one behind the other in the direction of the wrap yarns according to a scheme that allows weaving the fabric 13 according to a determined weave.

The present disclosure also concerns the wrap yarns sequencing system 2.

Indeed, according to the present disclosure, it is desirable that several weaves or layouts of the fabric may be woven along a continuous weft. A weave comprises data that define the various movements of the frames and that select the wrap yarns and/or the weft yarns in order to constitute the weaving. A fabric layout comprises data that define its shaping in thickness and/or in geometry and which also influence the definition of the frames that are required for the weaving. The continuity of the weft yarn, or of the various layers of weft yarns in a multilayered fabric, is a highly desirable feature to the extent that it improves the cohesion of the final fabric and also because it avoids the edge-to-edge placing operations of fabrics webs of different weaves and layouts, which are currently necessary, when it is desired to obtain a fabric having several different weaves or layouts in the direction of the weft.

Such an edge-to-edge placing operation of different webs may be considered on a Jaquard-type weaving loom wherein each eyelet is individually driven. However, it will be slower, more expensive and carried out on a more bulky machine.

To this end, the present disclosure consists mainly in disposing side-by-side frames, each one being driven in its own up and down movement so that it is possible to weave, according to determined weave and layout, a section of the final fabric in the direction of the weft having substantially the width of the frame assigned thereto. Of course, several frames are disposed behind such a frame and at least some of them are disposed side-by-side with other frames associated to another section of the fabric in the direction of the weft.

The present disclosure lies in that the sequencing system includes means for driving side-by-side frames. To realize such means, the present disclosure provides sliders for the uprights of the side-by-side frames, and a motorization that is independent over time and in amplitude so that the provided sequencing may be designed while taking into account the design data of the weave and/or the layout of each adjacent section of the fabric in the direction of the weft.

In FIG. 2, there is represented an exploded view of the mounting of a frame used in the present disclosure.

The frame itself is composed of at least one lateral upright 21 to the left and at least one lateral upright 22 to the right which provide the rigidity of the frame. The lateral uprights 21 and 22 are mounted by their ends on an upper rigid bar 19 and on a lower rigid bar 20. The frame is completed by an upper heddles support axis 17 and a lower heddles support axis 18. For illustration, a heddle with its eyelet 16 is represented mounted between the upper 17 and lower 18 heddles support axes. A yarn or a set of yarns 15 is represented inside the eyelet. Of course, a series of similar heddles and eyelets is disposed next to the heddle 15 in the opening of the frame 17-22.

The ends of the uprights 21 and 22 are pierced with tappings which correspond to bores at the ends of the upper 19 and lower 20 bars for receiving fastening screws which are represented with no reference numerals. Similarly, the upper 17 and lower 18 axes are secured to the frame by an end screw, represented with no reference numerals at each end of the uprights inside the thus formed frame.

Note that the leftside 21 and rightside 22 lateral uprights are profiled so as to be able to integrate in a slider of the wrap yarns sequencing system on the weaving loom so that, along a common slider, two frames disposed side-by-side may slide freely along a same slider. In one form not represented in the drawing, when mounted in the wrap yarns sequencing system, the slider affects an

X

-shaped horizontal section. Each outer profile of a rightside 22 or a leftside 21 upright of the frame according to the present disclosure affects a profile that enables its sliding inside one of the branches of the “X” of the section of said slider.

In FIG. 3, there is schematically represented a portion of a wrap yarns sequencing system according to the present disclosure in one form that enables disposing two frames side-by-side.

The sequencing system of the form includes a framework 25 whose vertical dimension in the drawing is perpendicular to the weft direction when installed on the weaving loom of the present disclosure.

The framework 25 is constructed with uprights and cross-pieces for its rigidity and it presents in the drawing a front face and a rear face which are open for passage of the wrap yarns. The other sides are, if necessary, closed by sheet metals or a casing in order to protect the operators. Two frames to the left 27 and to the right 28 are represented side-by-side on either side of a slider (with no reference numerals) and shared by their facing uprights. Similarly, the leftside uprights of the leftside frame 27 and the rightside uprights of the rightside frame 28 are engaged in sliders (not visible in the drawing) which are vertical and parallel to the other sliders secured to the vertical uprights such as the upright 26 of the framework 25.

Each frame 27 or 28 is driven by its own vertical cable (not represented) secured to the upper rigid bar of each frame. Each cable is driven by its own motor so that the vertical translational movements 30 and 31 of each frame 27 or 28 in its sliders are fully autonomous and freely programmable depending on the different weaves and layouts provided for the section of the woven fabric by the concerned frame or line of frames. The driving cables (or any other means for driving or connecting to the motors) not represented, are driven by motors disposed in the cover 33 above the framework 25.

In FIG. 3, there is represented only the first row of one frame, for the two side-by-sides frames 27, 28. The framework 25 is designed for receiving a line of side-by-side frames in the horizontal direction 29 from the front to the back, and which follow the frames 27 and 28. Of course, the three sliders secured to the framework 25 and disposed in the plane occupied by the two side-by-side frames 27 and 28 are repeated in each plane of the line 29 of side-by-side frames occupying the cabinet.

The number of frames of one line 29 depends only on the requirements of the weave and layout of the section of the fabric produced by the line of frames mounted in the framework 25, and on those of space constraints.

In one form, the frames have an effective width of 300 millimeters and their total thickness in the direction 29 does not exceed eight millimeters and they are constructed from standard uprights, rigid bars and heddles axes thereby providing cost savings and easy replacement of the components of the frames.

In another form, there is constructed a framework of wrap yarns sequencing system containing in the direction 29, lines of 60 independent frames in the depth direction of the framework 25.

In FIG. 4, there is represented one form of a weaving loom according to the present disclosure wherein three lines of frames are disposed side-by-side so that three sections of the fabric are woven with different weaves and layouts.

The sequencing system 40 presents three lines of side-by-side frames, of which only the first frame of each line to the left 41, at the center 42 and to the right 43, are disposed. The shed 44 from the frames 41 to 43 is schematically represented and the already woven fabric is visible at the front of the drawing, presenting three sections successively in the direction of the weft: the Woven Area 1, the Woven Area 2 and the Woven Area 3.

The mechanical assembly is designed to reduce the space between two successive wrap yarns present in two side-by-side frames. This arrangement provides a limited marking between the sections in the fabric appearance.

The weaving method according to the present disclosure consists mainly in designing a flat fabric which may be multilayered and presenting several adjacent sections in the direction of the weft whose weaves and layouts are different, then in designing a set of side-by-side frames for enabling the weaving of the adjacent sections in the continuity of the weft according to the designed weaves and layouts, and in carrying out the weaving using a weaving loom according to the present disclosure.

In one form, each fabric section is designed in terms of its weave and layout so that a line of frames associated to said section is designed and that their different vertical movements are independent over time and in amplitude.

In another form, the weaving loom of the present disclosure includes means for realizing singularities in at least one of the woven areas in connection with a line of frames provided for the weaving of this area. In particular, these means for creating singularities may include a weft insertion system, for example of the shuttle-type, adapted to the layout of the concerned weaving area. An example of such the form is represented on the rightmost woven area in FIG. 4, namely the Woven Area 3, which carries an aperture or pocket elongated in the direction of the weft.

The woven preforms according to this method are made in one single piece. Thus, it is no longer necessary to consider a post-operation such as draping, assembling and consolidating (such as

tufting

, sewing, etc.). Such a woven preform is used for making in a composite material, a beam of a thrust reverser for a turbojet engine nacelle.

Such a preform is also used for making composite parts such as sheets, beams and profiles such as guide or carrying rails. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A weaving loom of a kind comprising a wrap yarns supply system, a wrap yarns sequencing system with frames, a beating reed and a weft yarn insertion system, wherein the wrap yarns sequencing system comprises means for driving side-by-side frames.
 2. The weaving loom according to claim 1, wherein the wrap yarns sequencing system comprises parallel sliders in which profiled edges are engaged facing vertical uprights of facing frames.
 3. The weaving loom according to claim 1, further comprising lines of side-by-side frames, each line of frames in one row being assigned to a weaving of one section of a fabric according to a determined weave and/or layout by using at least partially a continuity of a weft between various sections of the fabric.
 4. The weaving loom according to claim 1, wherein the wrap yarns sequencing system comprises a motorization which is independent, over time and in amplitude, from a movement of the side-by-side frames.
 5. The weaving loom according to claim 1, wherein the weaving loom comprises means for realizing singularities in at least one of woven areas in connection with a line of frames provided for a weaving of said at least one woven area which includes a weft insertion system.
 6. The weaving loom according to claim 5, wherein the weft insertion system is of a shuttle type adapted to a layout of a concerned weaving area.
 7. A weaving method using a weaving loom according to claim 1, said method comprising: a step of designing a flat fabric which are multilayered and presenting several adjacent sections in a weft direction whose weave and layout are different; a step of designing a set of side-by-side frames for enabling a weaving of the adjacent sections in a continuity of a weft according to designed weaves and layouts; and a step of carrying out the weaving.
 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the step of designing each fabric section produces data defining a weave and a layout thereof used in a subsequent step of designing a line of frames associated to said fabric section as well as their different vertical movements which are independent over time and in amplitude.
 9. A preform woven according to the method of claim 7, comprising several adjacent areas in the weft direction presenting different weaves and/or layouts and which are made in one single piece.
 10. The preform woven according to claim 9, wherein the preform is used for making in a composite material, a beam of a thrust reverser for a turbojet engine nacelle, or composite parts.
 11. The preform woven according to claim 9, wherein the composite parts are sheets, beams, guide or carrying rails. 